ATF6 and diabetic kidney disease: For example, studies have reported the involvement of renal cell apoptosis in DKD.[38–40] Caspase-3 can be activated through both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis.[41–43] Both in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that the inhibition of Caspase-3 activity by Z-DEVD-FMK effectively reduced the degree of renal tubular cell apoptosis.[44] A previous study proved that Danggui Buxue decoction reduced the apoptosis of kidney cells in DKD rats by downregulating the expression of ATF6, CHOP, and Caspase-3.[16]